Precision Teaching to Develop Key Word Sign Skills in Practitioners in Intellectual Disability Services: A Proof‐of‐Concept Study

The team trained staff who work with adults with intellectual disability. They wanted more fluent Key Word Sign after old one-day Makaton classes failed.

Four staff got Precision Teaching. They practiced 60 signs on a fluency chart until they hit speed and accuracy aims. The design was multiple baseline across people.

Signs per minute tripled. Staff also used the signs naturally with clients during breaks, not just in drills. Gains stayed one month later.

One aide said, "I finally chat with my hands instead of only my voice."

Kleinert et al. (2007) used short BST to get paraprofessionals to 100% accuracy teaching AAC. Vostanis keeps the same staff group and setting but swaps BST for daily timed practice. The jump from accuracy to fluency is the new piece.

Frank-Crawford et al. (2024) scoping review shows most DTT studies stop at acquisition. Vostanis adds celeration charts and maintenance probes, filling the gap the review flags.

Howard et al. (1988) taught adults with ID to sign. Vostanis flips the target: now staff learn the signs so clients hear and see more language every day.

If you run day or residential programs for adults with ID, you can replace yearly sign workshops with two-minute timings each morning. Chart the data, aim for 80-100 correct signs per minute, and watch real conversations grow at lunch, on van rides, and during chores. No extra staff, no extra cost—just faster, lasting sign use that gives clients more voice.